We are very excited to share the news that our popular “Wildlife on the Move” children’s book series has gained a valuable new educational component.
In partnership with Islandport Press, each book now has a full downloadable teacher guide, as well as a dedicated webpage complete with additional resources. Check them out for yourself!
Here’s more information from Islandport’s press release:
New teaching guides expand children’s book program
09/24/2018
Teachers and parents will now have educational resources about owls, bats, butterflies, and turtles at their fingertips, thanks to new teaching guides from Maine Audubon. A four-book partnership between Islandport Press and Maine Audubon is expanding to include teaching guides that accompany and enhance each of the popular board books (A Snowy Owl Story, A Monarch Butterfly Story, A Little Brown Bat Story, and A Blanding’s Turtle Story).
The Wildlife on the Move series began in 2015 with an aim to bring well-written, engaging stories about wildlife migration, conservation, and respectful human interaction with nature to a Pre-K through second-grade audience. Now, educators, librarians, parents, and caregivers will be able to enrich the experience with the new guides, which were developed by Maine Audubon’s Early Childhood Education Program Manager Molly Woodring.
Each guide includes background information about each species, reading discussion questions, three teaching units that include lesson plans aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, and fully-developed classroom activities ranging from an echolocation game to a life cycle comparison card game to a nature journaling activity. The 32-page guides also include “Take Action” pages, tips on how to take learning outside in all four seasons, additional reading lists, songs and fingerplays, and color reproducibles. Each guide is available for download as a PDF at: www.maineaudubon1.wpengine.com/WOTM.
The teaching guides can be used in multiple ways, by choosing a standalone unit or lesson from one teaching guide, or to provide context and background information for the Wildlife on the Move books. Readers can also explore multiple themes related to ecology, geography, and stewardship throughout each season and from multiple angles.
“We know that early childhood is when kids begin to form values,” said Maine Audubon Director of Education Eric Topper. “Today, children spend less time outdoors, teachers have full plates, and integrating new science-based content can be daunting. This new component of Wildlife on the Move makes studying Maine’s wildlife a topic of interest and relevance for most kids, and makes teaching it more attainable for educators in Maine and beyond.”
The teaching guides were funded by the Jane B. Cook 1992 Charitable Trust and Edward H. Daveis Benevolent Fund.
All the “Wildlife on the Move” books are available in our Nature Stores, too!
